History of Film I

FILM 247

This course provides an introductory survey of film history its origins to the 1960s. It covers the birth of film out of photography in the 1890s, its commercial expansion, first great actors and directors, artistic development in German expressionism and Soviet montage, the advent of sound in the 1920s, and the beginning of the golden years of Hollywood before and during World War II, and American and European cinema in the postwar era. Throughout this course, we will develop a historical appreciation of film, exploring narrative, documentary, and experimental forms and acquire the critical, technical, and aesthetic vocabulary related to cinematic practices and structures.